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What could be eight times bigger than the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan — and lethal enough to at leastDOUBLE the price of gas and oil next year?

Brace yourself for the "new" and bloody war nobody saw coming... by bunkering down against soaring energy costs, thanks to a "safe haven" financial plan that could pay you gainsup to 668%...

Nobody in the Pentagon will talk openly about it. Nobody in the White House knows what to do.

But make no mistake...

What I'm about to show you could be the deadliest surprise threat to your money and livelihood of the coming year.

I say "new" because as you'll see there's not much newabout it at all — the pressure's been building behind this for the last 1,354 years!

Yet for the first time in history, that pressure has found its release. I’m imagining a volcano of blood.

When it blows, you could see your savings get SLAMMED... the dollar thrown into a TAILSPIN... and, here's what will stun the still-recovering world economy, gas and oil prices doubling or even tripling by sometime early in the coming year.

How on earth is that possible?

It's the last thing most people expect, from market pros to bumbling D.C. bureaucrats... but if nothing changes in what I'm about to show you... this is a page in future history books that's already writing itself.

I'll show you the evidence myself.

If I'm right, as many as eight key Islamic countries are hurtling headlong toward a bloody "new" war — with each other — that's been FOURTEEN CENTURIES in the making.

This could begin as early as the next 12 to 18 months. And with no less than 66% of the world's key energy reserves smack dab in the crosshairs.

Sound impossible?

Even if I'm only half right, and we get an oil-state stalemate unlike anything the world has ever seen — you could see oil soar past the old high of $147.30 per barrel, well on its way to as much as $220... with gasoline bucking against a ceiling of $8 per gallon.

I'll show you how this unfolds below.

You'll see the maps, I'll name the names. And I'll reveal to you the stunning web of "secret revenge" that lies behind it all... waiting over 1,354 years for this moment!

Soaring Oil Costs, Even a Dead Economy?

Remember the "Nixon Shock" and market collapse of '73? Stocks fell 43%... but that didn't stop oil and gas prices from quadrupling thanks to an Oil Embargo.

And how about 1979 and gas lines? Even with Jimmy Carter's "malaise" and stagflation, oil prices almost tripled... thanks to the hostage crisis in Tehran.

It was oil that German subs targeted in both World Wars... and oil Japan gunned for in Pearl Harbor... even Afghanistan is part battle over a $3.2 billion oil pipeline.

After the S&L banking crisis of the late '80s, oil still soared in Gulf War One... and soared again on 9/11, despite the aftermath of the dot-com bomb. It took off again in 2003, as bombs dropped on Baghdad.

With politics as a driver, oil doesn't need a red-hot economy to take off... even the last peak of $147 came six months after the Dow first started shedding points and two years after property markets turned south!

Of course, events like these echo around the world.

And nobody gets the chance to just "sit on the sidelines."

But there's good news too.

Because, you see, just like every major shift of history... deep within every crisis... you'll also find an opportunity to protect yourself. And this event is no exception.

For instance, the last time we saw politics push up the price of petroleum, my readers found strategic gains in a "self-defense" move that shot up by 668%.

In fact, we've used all kinds of moments in flux to make protective and even impressive gains. Take a look at this small sample, drawn straight from our posted track record...

Our Strategic Gains in Turbulent Times

137% gains on KeyWest Energy

174% gains on PetroChina

151% gains on Wheaton River Minerals

270% gains on the July silver calls

162% gains on Intrepid Minerals

104% gains on the ICON Energy Fund

332% gains on Glamis/Francisco Gold

108% gains on Norsk Hydro

668% gains on Metallica Resources

118% gains on Anglo American PLC

105% gains on Gentry Resources

160% gains on Western Oil Sands

151% gains on Tocqueville Gold

182% gains on Talisman Energy

228% gains on Niko Resources

142% gains on BG Group

263% gains on Coeur d'Alene Mines

177% gains on Coeur d'Alene Mines again

116% gains on Cameco

And we continue to post new gains, even now. Some of today's open positions have already shot up 37%... 45%... 46%... 53%... 61%... 64%... 70%... 75%... 128%... 146%... 155%... 160%... 200%... 403%... and 466%... with more to come!

(I can't name those stocks for you right now. That wouldn't be fair to my readers. But I'll tell you how to find out about all of them, right after you finish reading this letter.)

My point is, today's moment is even larger than anything we've seen before. But so are the opportunities I see right now for you to protect yourself. I'd hate for you to miss any of them, while you still have the opportunity to make your move.

Over the next four minutes, I'll show you how.

But before I do, let's step back so I can explain how this "war" begins.

Long before $147 oil... before the war over 9/11 or the war in Afghanistan... before either war in Iraq, the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, or even the oil crisis of 1973.

All the way back to a lamb dinner, served up one evening in the year 629 AD...

The Murder That's Aboutto Change the World

Nobody could have known that the dinner they were about to eat would one day change history. Some say it was goat. Others say it was lamb.

Either way, it was poisoned.

And the guest of honor was Mohammed, the controversial founder of Islam.

It was just one bite, that's all it took. He tasted the poison and immediately spit it out. But it was too late. He would soon die, sparking a bitter and deadly divide.

See, when Mohammed died nobody could agree on who should take over...

And they've been killing each other as a result ever since.

On the one side, you've got the Sunni Muslims. They're the ones that run Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and many of the other countries in the Middle East.

On the other, you've got the Shia Muslims. It's the Shia that run Iran. And now run Iraq, as well as Lebanon and Syria.

Think Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland... Serbs vs. Croats in Bosnia... or even the religious Thirty Years War that ripped apart Europe in the 16th century.

Only this Sunni-Shia split has built up pressure now for the last 1,354 years.

But it's only now that this pressure has found its ultimate release — with Iran driving a new Shia uprising smack dab in the middle of the most dangerous place on Earth — the oil-soaked Middle East.

Isn't the Middle East already a mess? Yes, it is.

What's different is that too many in the West... right up to the White House and the Pentagon... don't "get" just how deep this Islam divide could go or how far it could run.

Take a look at this map...

The Deadly Sunni-Shia Divide — 2010-2011

If it's black in this map, it's Shia ground. It's also mostly oil heartlandand some of the most strategic territory in the entire Middle East!

One terrorist with a grudge can do a lot of damage.

Iran, all by itself, could even be a deadly force.

But can you imagine what millions of Shiites with a 1,354-year old ax to grind could do?

The 162-Million-Man March

Nobody knows exactly how many Shia there are right now in the Middle East. That's because in all but four Middle Eastern countries, Sunni leaders don't bother to count.

Sunni schools teach that Shiites aren't real Muslims. Shias don't get a seat in government. They can't become judges or even testify in high courts. In Sunni-run Saudi Arabia, Shias and Sunni can't even marry.

For centuries, the Shia have been the underclass.

But now, for the first time in history, they see this as their chance to turn the tide. And how big a tide is it? Hands down, saber-rattling Iran has the most — 70 million Shia.

But then you've got the "liberated" Shia of Iraq — 22 million. Plus as many as 2 million Shia in Iran-backed Lebanon. And up to 4 million Shia in Iran's top ally, Syria.

Then you've got another 700,000 Shia in Kuwait... up to 500,000 Shia in Bahrain... up to 400,000 Shia in the United Arab Emirates... 300,000 Shia in Oman... and around 100,000 Shia in Qatar, according to the Pew Research Center in Washington.

On top of that, as many as 10 million Shia in Yemen... another 7 million Shia in Azerbaijan... and 11 million Shia in Turkey... not to mention the combined 30 million Shia in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Not all Shia want a revolution.

But out of between the 147 million to 162 million Shia spread from Pakistan to Lebanon and Azerbaijan to Yemen, enough do that this is the river of "Secret Revenge" and common blood running through the entire Middle East.

The Sunnis are worried.

Especially in Sunni-run Saudi Arabia.

And especially now.

Here's why...

"New" Oil War Flashpoint #1:The Real Reason IranWants the Bomb

Don't forget, Iran used to be Persia.

At one point Persia was the biggest and most powerful empire in history!

Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Egypt — even Israel — the Persians controlled them all. Along with all of Afghanistan and Pakistan and most of the oil-rich coast of the Caspian.

For 300 years, Persian armies held off the Roman Empire. Their scholars walked with Aristotle and Plato. And influenced Greek art.

It was the Persians who invented chess. And the windmill.

Not to mention bricks, algebra, trigonometry, and wine.

The bottom line is... no Empire forgets its past glory.

The Iranians resent losing theirs.

But now they see a chance to get it back.

The nuclear bomb? Tehran's crackpot leaders don't just want it to scare Israel. They want it so they can throw a dark shadow over their Sunni Arab neighbors, too!

Take a look at this...

Iran's First Move...

With total control of the Hormuz "oil chokepoint" in the Persian Gulfand new power in "liberated" Iraq, the Iranians have a brand new footholdfor kicking off the long-awaited "Shia Revolution."

You'll notice two things.

First, you'll see how Iran's Shia influence has spilled across the border into southern Iraq. Southern Iraq is where you'll find six of Iraq's eight "Supergiant" oil fields. It's also where you'll find a key border with Shia Islam's mortal enemy — Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is Sunni.

For eight years back in the 1980s, Saudi Arabia helped Iraq wage a bloody war against Iran. Along with other Sunni governments, the Saudis even gave Saddam over $47 billion to launch missiles and nerve gas attacks over the Iranian border.

Iran hasn't forgotten. Or forgiven.

(Imagine if Canada or Mexico had given money to Japan to help them bomb Pearl Harbor. Iran has waited to make the Saudis pay — and now they have their chance.)

"Iran is clearly seen as a very serious threat by those on the other side of the Gulf front."

— Gen. David Petraeus,Jan. 31, 2010

The second thing you'll see in the map above is that Iran has almost total control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Hormuz is the tight waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. Over 17 million barrels of oil have to pass through Hormuz every day.

That's 40% of all the oil shipped in the world.

And 90% of all the daily oil shipments from the entire Middle East.

With Hormuz alone, Iran could cripple the world overnight.

Today, Iran backs Shia militants in Iraq. They give them money and guns. They've even helped Shia politicians take over the Iraqi government. Why?

Because gaining control in Iraq takes the Iranians one step closer in their twisted plot for secret revenge. For another one of those steps, just look further south... to Yemen.

"New" Oil War Flashpoint #2:Yemen's Ugly Secret

The Pentagon has just tripled its budget on Yemen.

Top U.S. General Patraeus just had a not-so-secret meeting with Yemen's president.

And our own State Department calls Yemen a “threat... to global stability.”

What gives?

Even ABC News just called Yemen the next "top target" in the terror war and a "near-perfect haven for terrorists." Obama just sent Yemen our troops, ships, and weapons.

Yemen might be a failed country... with a collapsing government, a shrinking oil supply, an exploding population and not much of anything else but lawlessness and chaos.

But what Yemen does have is position.

It sits just on the tip of the Arab peninsula... south of another key Saudi border and on the coast of another key oil strait called Bab-el-Mandeb.

That name means the "Gate of Tears."

How Islam's Next "New"World Oil War Will Begin

"Nature," goes the old saying, "abhors a vacuum."

For instance, when a failed assassin's bullet burst a blood vessel in Vladimir Lenin's brain in 1922... madman Josef Stalin quickly stepped in to fill the void. Likewise when the Weimar Republic collapsed in 1933... and Hitler stepped into power.

Today there's a new void about to be filled — in the ravaged Middle East — and the lethal force that's stepping up to fill it could plunge the entire region into a "new" Islamic war.

If that happens, nearly 66% of the world's oil supply will get caught in the crosshairs.

Soaring energy prices can hit almost every aspect of life... and pummel any economy... but there are ways you can protect yourself, financially. Read on to find out how...

And like Hormuz, most oil states on the Red Sea can't get a drop of oil out without shipping it through the Bab-el-Mandeb. Over 3.3 million barrels go through every day.

Blocking this chokepoint alone could slap a $30 "political premium" on the price of every barrel of oil... but there's an even bigger threat taking shape.

For the last six years, Yemen has fought a vicious and bloody war with Shia rebels. These rebels are poor. There's no way, says a Yemen general, these rebels "could fund and fight this war with pomegranates and grapes... no doubt there is Iranian support."

Could it be true? Absolutely.

Iran loves to buy loyalty.

Take the $1 billion Tehran now "donates" every year to Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. Or the billions they gave Syria's Shia president to build cement factories, car factories, power plants, and storage silos.

In return, Iran gets Hezbollah's Arabic-speaking terrorists to run militant Shia training camps in Iraq. And gets Syria to distribute Iran's money and weapons to others in the Shia network.

The secret money Iran sends to Shia rebels in Yemen could soon have a payoff too — by opening up another route for "backdoor" Shia access into Saudi Arabia.

Yemen's rebels have already hit towns across the Saudi border. And the Saudis have hit back, losing dozens of troops in the process. We’re just in the first innings of this one.

How bad is it?

So far, 50 Saudi schools along the border have had to close. Another 240 border towns have already been evacuated. And Saudi jets have already dropped bombs in Yemen.

What exactly has the Saudis running scared?

Final Oil War Flashpoint #3:Iran's Final Prize — Saudi Oil

Don't think for a minute that I think Iran's plot for "secret revenge" could succeed.

But the threat alone could be enough to kick oil much higher.

And sooner than you might think.

For instance...

Our CIA, Britain's M16, and other top spy agencies say Iran could have a working nuclear bomb as soon as April 2011...

The Times of London uncovered a confidential document that says Iran already has a "neutron initiator" ready to test. That's the part you need to trigger a warhead.

And Der Spiegel, the German magazine, says Iran may even have the tech and material to build a simple nuclear bomb before the end of THIS year.

But the Bomb is just a beginning.

Even if the go ahead to build a nuke never comes from Iran's top cleric, the more immediate danger is a wildfire of Shia-Sunni unrest... starting in Iran's new hotbeds of Shia support... and spreading across the rest of the Sunni-run oil states... with the richest oil fields in the world's richest oil nation as the final battleground.

Take a look at this last map...

The Final Battleground — Saudi Arabia!

Suddenly, Iran has its mortal enemy, Saudi Arabia, surrounded —millions of Shia even live on top of the Saudis OWN biggest oilfields.

As you can see, Saudi Arabia looks like a sitting duck.

Iran has a Shia network that reaches from Afghanistan to Lebanon once again... more connections building along the Persian Gulf... Yemeni Shias to the south... and Shia connections along the oil rich Caspian Sea.

You could see this spread to the nearly two million Shia that live and work on Saudi Arabia's oil fields very soon. Even though that's exactly what the Saudis — and our own Pentagon — hope will never happen.

As you read this, big and small Gulf states are piling up weapons, stocking anti-missile batteries, and sandbagging their oil terminals, ports, and water desalinization plants...

Abu Dhabi alone has already bought $17 billion worth of U.S. anti-missile hardware. And the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia just splurged on weapons, to the tune of $25 billion.

As you read this, our own F-16 fighter jets, Patriot missile systems, giant cruisers and up to 20,000 more U.S. troops are quietly digging in for an epic fight... that could spread past Iraq and Yemen... and even into Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.

All to get ready for what could be the fight of a lifetime...

Say Hello to the "Jihad Generation"

It's not just our experts saying it.

Leaders in all three of America's biggest Middle East allied countries — Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia — claim the epic Sunni-Shia showdown is in the cards.

It could start from any one of the flashpoints I just named.

But no matter how it starts, Saudi Arabia is where it's most likely to end up. Why?

Not only is Saudi Arabia home to Mecca, Islam's holiest place... but it's also home to the corrupt and U.S.-allied Royal House of Saud, considered an insult to all Islam.

Think about it.

In a country where they'll cut off your hand for stealing and whip you for holding a glass of whiskey... Saudi princes gorge on cocaine and prostitutes, gambling, palaces, and more.

All while the vast Saudi underclass starves on just $6,000 per year and 30% unemployment. And as many as two million of that underclass is Shia. With a 1,354-year-old ax to grind and billions of dollars in oil revenues as the prize.

It's a near-perfect formula for a FULL-ON war.

And the fuse is already lit.

Iran is ready to assert its place in the world. Think Japan or Germany in the 1930s. The threat is there, it's large, and it's not going away anytime soon.

How the world responds, we can't know.

But I can tell you how oil could respond... by exploding to new record highs. Possibly as high as $220 per barrel by spring of the coming year... with gas not topping out until it hits as much as $8 per gallon.

That's very bad news for millions around the world.

And yet...

When Historical Shifts Happen,Getting Rich Can Be Your Best Protection

Have no illusions — any military response, on any front — could only accelerate the spike in oil prices. So the first thing you're going to want to do is simply get out of the way.

But you're also going to make defensive moves with your money.

"Rock Kicking Former Navy PilotDiscovers Resource Riches"

Byron King, Rock-kicking Resource Expert

It was a lunchtime talk that changed Byron's life.

He was a geology student, studying at Harvard. And he and a few friends got to sit in and listen to M. Hubbert King — M.I.T. geoscientist and petroleum expert — give a bold and shocking presentation about the looming threat of "peak oil."

Worldwide, said Hubbert, oil production would peak. And a new era of permanent petroleum scarcity would begin. Today, it's a widely accepted reality. Back then, says Byron, "you could have heard a pin drop."

But scarcity also leads to opportunity. And days after Byron the "rock kicking" geology student graduated from Harvard — with honors — he drove straight to Texas where he took up a top-level oil exploration job with a Fortune Top 20 oil firm.

He helped them find deposits. He helped them design drilling rigs. Byron even helped them squeeze extra oil out of already tapped fields.

But this was also back when a lot of his colleagues served America in Korea and Vietnam. And Byron felt that call too. So a few years in, he said goodbye to his oil industry friends and joined the U.S. Navy — where he logged 1,200 flight hours and 128 death-defying carrier landings as a tactical jet pilot!

After active officer duty in the Navy, Byron felt another call — to join his father in the family law practice back in Pennsylvania, where he returned and practiced law for the next seventeen years.

Today, the one thing that's never left Byron is his passion for research into resources. Not just oil and natural gas, but everything from gold and silver to uranium, platinum, copper, and more. Byron has spent years studying and researching the nuts and bolts of the resource industries and today he's one of the world's top resource experts.

Maybe you've seen or heard Byron during his frequent radio and TV interviews. Maybe you've seen one of his many colorful speeches at international investing conferences.

But far and away, the best way for you to find out which money-making resource opportunities Byron has on his radar right now is to check out a risk-free trial subscription to his top-ranked monthly newsletter, Outstanding Investments.

Read on to find out how...

And the best way to defend yourself and your wealth in this kind of crisis couldn't be more obvious — you need to hitch a ride on the prices that will go UP as this unfolds.

In a moment like this, that can be easier than you might think.

Over and over again, throughout history, things that are key to survival are also among the first things to go up in a time of chaos like I foresee ahead.

Not just with oil. But other raw resources that nations, advancing armies, and even innocent bystanders simply can't do without. These are the assets you can see, use, and touch.

Think about it.

What critical resource need helped drive Germany into BOTH world wars... drove Japan to bomb Pearl Harbor... and helped fuel the Allies that crushed them? Oil.

After the Yom Kippur War... during the Iranian hostage crisis... during countless clashes in Palestine and Israel... during both Gulf Wars...we saw oil prices take off.

Couldn't it happen again?

Of course it could.

Like I said, the rising threat alone... so close to nearly 66% of the world's shrinking oil and gas reserves... could be enough to set this price explosion into motion.

When that happens, you could still get very rich...

Take the 174% gain my readers and I recently posted on PetroChina... or our 160% gain on Western Oil Sands... another 182% on Talisman Energy... 104% on the ICON Energy Fund... and 476% so far on Suncor Energy...

And of course, energy's not the only "defensive" power play...

My readers and I also posted 118% gains on the diversified mining company, Anglo American Ltd... plus another 151% gain that we discovered with Tocqueville Gold... our 263% gain with Couer d'Alene, plus another 177% gain on the same stock, a second time around... and another 270% gain that we saw on silver call options...

The bottom line?

Markets, up or down, hate uncertainty.

And that's what you could see driving this shocking new opportunity. That's why I'm URGING you to send for my new FREE 2010-2011 Crude Awakening Countdown Library.

Inside, I've included five FREE reports — all detailing which special money moves to act on NOW if you want to protect yourself and your money during the crisis ahead.

These reports name 14 plays you could be missing.

I'm offering to share all 14 moves with you FREE — even as I also share these same moves with my paid-up subscribers. And yes, I'll even cover shipping and handling.

The reports are yours, no questions asked.

Let me give you a glimpse of what you'll find inside...

Defensive Energy Power Play #1:The Single Best Energy Stockto Own Over the Next 20 Years(Hint: it’s 6,859 miles from the Mid-East…)

One easy way to "get out of the way" and still gain as oil goes up... is simply to go outside of the Middle East to find the best oil providers.

In 1973, the smart money ran from OPEC oil... and into oil opportunities in Canada, Mexico, and the UK. Today you've got even more smart energy "safe havens."

Today that strategy can work even better.

But that's only part of the reason I believe this first major "defensive energy" stock could be the single best oil company opportunity for you to own over the next 20 years.

How so?

Let me take you to a place that's thousands of miles from the Middle East... and well beyond the reach of any crackpot dictator or terrorist.

Yes, it's also an oil field.

Nobody even knew much about it until 2006, the first year they cracked through the field's overlying layer of salt — more than a mile of it — and into dense carbonate rock — and abouteight billion barrels of oil.

That's more than the entire proven reserves of Norway.

But then they kept looking and found — in a deposit almost 500 miles long and 100 miles wide — what could be as much as 100 billion barrels of oil.

Easily, that's the biggest single oil-bearing zone anywhere in the world.

Bigger than almost all the oil fields in Iraq, combined. Bigger than all the reserves in Russia. Or Iran, for that matter. Bigger than the Saudi's legendary Ghawar.

Yet, until just recently, nobody even knew it was there...

The Greatest EnergyDiscovery in 100 Years

See, here's the thing...

This massive new find I'm telling you about — they call it the Tupi Field — isn't really what you picture when you think of a "field" of oil at all.

You can't drive past it. You can't see it. In fact, no human can actually get close to it... and live. You see, the Tupi Field is hidden some two miles below the blackest, roughest seas just about anywhere on the planet... as far as 240 miles off the coast of Brazil.

It is, in fact, so far below the surface of the ocean that the water pressure alone would crush a steel-fortified Navy sub like you could crush a soda can.

And that's just the ocean floor. You need to go even deeper — 19,000 feet through multi-million year-old anthracite and salt deposits — to get to the beds of ancient limestone that hold the oil.

Crews go out on massive ships to set up the rigs. They use satellite images to find the deposits and then automated underwater robots to lock the drilling equipment into place.

Just tapping the deposit can take as many as three months to set up... at a cost of as much as $600,000 per day. Even to hire a helicopter to fly to the offshore drilling sites can take as long as two-hours over open water and up to $50,000 for the fuel and pilot... for each flight.

"A tip of my hat to you... yesterday, I followed your recommendation and bought 1,000 shares of The Andersons Inc., now up more than 8% in less than 24 hours... congratulations."

— Bruce B.

You can see why this massive oil deposit took so long to discover.

It wasn't long ago that we had the technology.

Then again, it wasn't long ago that anybody but the energy industry pros understood just how desperate we are to find and tap more and more remote oil discoveries like this one.

They call this kind of oil opportunity "deepwater crude."

This company I'm telling you about dominates this new field. They also have their geologists and engineers looking for even more breakthrough offshore energy discoveries just like this one.

Of course this isn't the only deepwater crude fortune-maker in town.

I've got three more I'd love to show you.

In fact, you'll find the full story in just one of the five special reports I'd like to send you, calledDeepwater Crude Bonanza: Four Ways to Get Rich on the New Oil Frontier.

Inside, not only do I name the single best energy stock of the next 20 years... but I also give you all my research on three other must-own "deepwater crude" plays, including...

The cutting-edge American deepwater technology company that has oil majors worldwide lined up to use their specialized rigs. Only a handful of companies worldwide can do what they do. And with up to 300 new deepwater rigs to come online by 2012, this company is lining up contracts by the score — this could be an easy 50% gainer over the 12 to 18 months ahead.

A trusted family-owned company that you already know, but what you might not know is that they're sitting on top of a second huge "deepwater" deposit almost as big as the one I just mentioned. They're also one of the few companies with the tech-savvy to drill the now-famous Bakken Oil Formation here in the U.S. This one has matched rising oil prices dollar for dollar before... and could triple from where it sits today.

And finally, what my readers and I now call the "most important oil equipment company in the world." Why? Because right now they're the single largest deepwater equipment supplier not only to the top offshore company I mentioned, but also to the other majors now crowding in — including Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, and more. What they make, nobody else can quite do. You'll see why in your free copy of my newest "deepwater" report.

Remember, I don't come at these opportunities like a broker trying to make commissions. This area is my trained specialty. I've spent years as a working oil exploration geologist. I study these opportunities with an understanding of the science and discoveries they're talking about.

And even when you factor that in, I'm convinced this new era in deepwater crude technology is a game changer. Not just the future of Big Oil, but also the single best way for you to get rich during the radical shift in energy politics headed down the pipe.

Once you let me rush you a free copy of Deepwater Crude Bonanza: Four Ways to Get Rich on the New Oil Frontier — one of the five special FREE reports in your 2010-2011 Crude Awakening Countdown Library — you'll quickly see why.

And then there's more...

Defensive Energy Power Play #2:Two More Ways to Get Rich...As Shanghai Goes Dark!

Obviously, it's not just the U.S. with an eye on oil anymore.

Even through the worldwide financial bust, China's kept on growing at a record clip... with oil and other energy needs to match.

Some of what they've done is make deals for more power, including multi-billion dollar deals with our enemies in Iran.

"China is preparing to build three times as many nuclear power plants in the coming decade as the rest of the world combined..."

— The New York Times

But even then, booming China could go bust if they don't fix their growing energy problems. Take China's situation with coal —– at one point during the winter of this year they were down to a 10-day supply.

The problem for China is that the country uses coal to crank out 80% of its electricity. For over 1 billion customers, that's a lot of coal. They can't get it out of the ground fast enough. Or safely.

But they want to rocket that number to 124 full capacity reactors over the next several years. By the year 2030, that could pump up their demand for uranium 10 times over.

The last full year on record, China used 769 tons of uranium.

Beijing's new plan would call for 20,000 tons per year.

Yeah, but what about wind, solar, or geothermal?

Not one is nearly as ready for prime time as nuclear.

Think about it. Right now around the world, you've got 436 nuclear reactors up and running. Plus another 50 being built. And another 137 reactors in the blueprint stage. Along with 295 more new reactors on the table for approval.

The U.S. just announced plans to start building more — on top of the 104 reactors we've already got going. In fact, the U.S. already gets about 20% of its power from reactors. And we're on track to make more.

"Nuclear energy... has the power to light a city in a lump the size of a soda can."

— Wired

Even Belgium, Sweden, South Korea, Switzerland, Japan, Spain, the U.S., the U.K., and France all get between 23% and 75% of their power from nuke plants. And those numbers are going up too.

According to a study by researchers at MIT, power demand could triple over the coming decades — and a huge portion of that new demand will be met with nuclear power!

That makes the next big question easy...

Who Has Uranium?

First, guess who doesn't. Uranium deposits are hard to come by in the Middle East. Instead, you've got Australia, the U.S., Canada, France, Argentina, Brazil, and India dominating the market. Along with South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, and Gabon.

I'm sure you remember, uranium stocks more than doubled from 2003 to 2007, during the first half of the second Gulf War. Uranium also shot up from $10 to $130 a pound.

Along with everything else, it crashed in 2008.

Now it's at a bottom price... new uranium production has flat-out stalled... yet all the surging power demands are still there. Especially from China.

Take a look at this chart...

It's not hard to do the math.

China has $1 trillion parked in U.S. dollar reserves. Most of the time, those dollars are a wasting asset. Meanwhile, cheap uranium can meet China's exploding energy needs many times over... compared to increasingly expensive oil.

In their shoes, what would you do?

Shanghai alone has already sucked up most of the energy output of the massive Three Gorges Dam. China's other enormous cities are hungry for cheap power, too. So is their massive industrial machine. And India, with plans to up their nuclear power output eight times over during the next decade, isn't far behind.

That could easily make 2010 the "year for uranium."

And that's why I'd love to share two easy ways for you to gain from the coming reawakening in uranium and nuclear-driven stocks.

One gives you a simple way to move on every uranium sector that could jump higher over the year ahead, from miners and storage, to nuclear equipment, plants, enrichment, and transportation.

It's a single play, tracking the whole uranium boom. Including moves that get you outside of the dollar. Yet you can act on this without sending a nickel outside the U.S.

I'm already sharing this same research with my paid-up Outstanding Investmentssubscribers. But I'd like to send it to you right now, as part of special invitation, FREE.

You'll find both this special move and a second one in another brand new report I callChina's Next Big Crisis: Two Ways to Get Rich... As Shanghai Goes Dark!

It's included as one of five FREE reports you'll get when you give me permission to send you my new 2010-2011 Crude Awakening Countdown Library.

You'll find everything you need inside, from more on how and why uranium could hit over $60 this year... to why some call for $250 uranium in the near future... plus everything about the only two uranium moves you'll need to make to see huge gains on this, over the months and years ahead.

In just a moment I'll show you how to send for this special report, along with the rest of your FREE library. But first let me ask you an important question...

"Over the past 12 months, Outstanding Investments is up 49.98% by Hulbert Financial Digest count, compared to a 28.3% gain for the dividend-reinvested Wilshire 5000 Total Stock Market Index.... over the past five years, the letter has achieved an 18.3% annualized gain... over the past 10 years, the letter has achieved a 14.88% annualized gain, compared to a negative 0.27% annualized for the total return Wilshire."

— Peter Brimelow, Marketwatch

I don't need to tell you, between plundering banks and blundering bureaucrats, a lot of regular Americans have watched their 401k and retirement "riches" stolen right out from under them, these past couple of years.

But when push comes to shove... in times of historic growth and epic crisis... what's the one thing that's endured? For as long as anybody's kept track, it's "stuff"... real, tangible, usable, tradable, blatantly valuable wealth.

In short, the raw resources you need to thrive and survive.

It's really that simple.It's no accident that's where the smart money flocks in good times and bad. It's also no accident that this is the story of one great fortune after another.

Think about it...

John D. Rockefeller built a staggering fortune — worth $212 billion in today's dollars and nearly four times bigger than Bill Gates stash of $57 billion — with Standard Oil.

Just before the crash of 1929, Rockefeller and other mega-rich investors like J.P. Morgan, Joseph F. Kennedy, and Bernard Baruch ALL shifted out of stocks and into gold — getting even richer in the process.

Andrew Carnegie — who also crushes Gates with a fortune worth nearly $112 billion in today's dollars — got that rich making steel.

Frederick Weyerhauser, worth more than $72.2 billion in today's money, made all of that after starting out with timber, land, and saw mills.

Andrew Mellon and his brother Richard each made about $36 billion, in today's terms, by branching out from banking and into oil, steel, aluminum, and coal.

Real assets are more than just the building blocks of great family fortunes, they're also the backbone of history. Not just with oil and the Middle East, but the timber riches that made Europe... the aqueducts that fed Roman fields... and Aztec gold and silver...

Forests that became armadas... coal and iron that made behind England an industrial power... steel that made America... the list goes on. And this has never been more true than right now.

Outstanding Investments was ranked by respected and impartial industry watchdog Mark Hulbert as the #1 performing advisory letter over a five-year period in 2005 and again in 2006 and 2007. That's quite an honor. Here's a glimpse at how we did it...

In 2002, our readers locked in 84% gains on Corner Bay... 96% gains on EOG Resources... 75% gains on American Water Works... 136% gains on R.J. Reynolds... and 137% gains on Key West Energy... plus another 151% gain on Wheaton River Minerals... 162% gains on Intrepid Minerals... a solid 332% gain on Glamis/Francisco Gold... and 668% gains on Metallica Resources.

In 2003, our readers socked away another 88% gains on Northgate Exploration... plus 105% gains on Gentry Resources... 151% gains on Tocqueville Gold... 228% gains on Niko Resources... and 236% gains on Coeur d'Alene Mines... just to name a few.

For 2004, Outstanding Investment readers closed out PetroChina with a solid 174% gain... plus another 55% on Atacama Minerals... 116% gains on Cameco... 24% gains on the Canadian Oil Sands Trust... 32% gains on Southwest Water... and 270% gains on the July 2005 silver calls... plus a slew of other small and fast winners.

In 2005, we took in another 60%, 44% and 45% gains on Harmony Gold, Schlumberger and Petro Kazakhstan Inc... and posted 51% gains on CONSOL Energy just a few weeks later. We hit with a fat 70% gain on both SUEZ SA and Petro-Canada... and 73% gains on Wheaton River Minerals and Anadarko Petroleum Corp.... plus 85% on Precision Drilling... 86% on Kerr-McGee... 88% on the INVESCO Energy Fund... 104% gains on the ICON Energy Fund... 108% gains on Norsk Hydro... 118% gains on Anglo American PLC... 160% gains on Western Oil Sands.... and an impressive 179% gain on Talisman Energy.

In 2006 and 2007, we closed out 147% gains on BG Group… 83% on Placer Dome… 78% on OMI Corp.… 87% on Walter Industries… and 177% on Coeur d’Alene Mines.

I'd like to send you a set of nine FREE gifts so you can see what I'm recommending you do right now. Plus, up to a full trial year — at no charge — of this top-ranked, award-winning advisory letter. Read on for more details...

Independent industry watchdog, Mark Hulbert, has even ranked us as the #1 Performing Investment Letter of the Last FIVE YEARS... not once but three times, in 2005... 2006... and 2007.

I'm proud of that record.

I'm even more proud of what some of my readers say...

What Others Say

Outstanding Investmentsreader Jeff Burke wrote in,

"It's difficult to be unhappy when all of the recommendations I hold from Outstanding Investments are up a minimum of 36%!"

Then there's reader Charles Bowman,

"I made a 140% gain with Tocqueville Gold - great pick! And 64% on Northgate, another winner!"

And paid-up reader Garry Coyne wrote,

"On Monday, I sold my last coffee contract for a net profit of 560%... [today] I took another net gain of 652% on two of the soybean contracts you recommended... and a profit of 205% on two soybean oil contracts... I'm absolutely wrapped, as I have never traded commodities until now."

My publisher has a whole pile of reader letters.

Here's a sample from just a few more...

"My stock portfolio has increased 52% in eight months as a result of the insight of Outstanding Investments. I plan to be a subscriber for years to come..." — paid-up subscriber Fred Hanson.

"I made back the cost of the subscription on my first buy, within about a week... Your newsletter is a great deal!" — paid-up subscriber Adam Dillard.

"Thanks for all the good analysis. Subscribing toOutstanding Investmentsis one of the best investment decisions I've ever made." — paid-up subscriberWade George.

I'd love the chance for you to see what everybody's talking about, too. That's why I'd like to invite you to try my research letter Outstanding Investments for yourself.

And you can start FREE, by letting me rush you the entire 2010-2011 Crude Awakening Countdown Library we talked about. That's yours to keep, at no charge.

Once you've had a chance to look that over, I've got an even better invitation for you. One I think you'll like very much. You'll find the details at the end of this letter.

But first, let me give you another small sample of what you'll discover...

Defensive Energy Power Play #3:The Gold Secret Nobody's Telling

What's the single best money move you could have made, from 1999 until now?

You must already know... it's gold.

With the yellow metal alone,you could have quadrupled your wealth.

While S&P stocks fell 9.7%... gold shot up 323%.

If that sounds like a fluke, go back over the last 25 years.

You'll find the single best year for stocks was just 31%... while gold's best year topped 100.2%... and precious metal coins did even better, up 198.8%!

But you've got to wonder now...

Has Gold Had Its Run?

From 1979 to 1982, during the Iranian hostage crisis and the worst inflation the U.S. has seen yet, the yellow metal surged 2,329%.

At 323%, we haven't even covered a fraction of that ground.

But all over the news, you can hear mainstreamers call for an "end" to gold's bull run. It's the same message they read back in 2009, during gold's seven corrections that year.

Yet gold prices shot up again each time — and finished the year hundreds of dollars higher than its low. Anyone who listened missed out on all those gains.

Will we see even more corrections? No doubt.

But the bottom line is that just like with oil, instability can drive gold higher.

My Outstanding Investmentsreadershave already seen gains on 12 out of the 14 mining stocks we're tracking right now. And half of those have posted triple-digit gains, as high as 131.4%, 133%, 165%, 167%, 202%, and 557%.

For years, I've helped my Outstanding Investmentsreaders stay ahead of gold and silver markets, too. And right now... I'm still urging them to pay attention.

I hope you're paying attention too.

Because I'm convinced that today's gold story is far from done.

That's why I'd like to include a third FREE report with your 2010-2011 Crude Awakening Countdown Library. I call this third report, Bullion and Beyond: Ultimate Wealth Protection Against the Coming Dollar Collapse.

Inside, here's just some of what you'll find...

Three Ways You Could StillSee Triple Your Money on Gold

What if you could take any remaining move in gold... even a small one... and as much astriple those gains? Because I firmly believe you could, in ways that could soon take even "gold bugs" by surprise.

"I almost bailed out when gold and oil took a dip... but followed your suggestion to stay in... Now I'm up 28% with only your recommendations in my portfolio. I also followed your recommendation on CDE, and it's up 8% already. Keep up the good work."

— Bill B.

How?

You can read all about it in another FREE report I'll send you, called Bullion and Beyond: Ultimate Wealth Protection Against the Coming Dollar Collapse.

Take a look...

First, Discover How to Own Gold at Just $174 Per Ounce — The first move I'll show you is easily one of the cheapest ways to get a piece of booming gold ownership, from a company that trades for $174 of market capitalization per ounce of gold.Translation: This senior miner is on track to become the lowest cost gold producer in the world. Big institutions have already soaked up more than half these shares (64%), and some of the best geologists, corporate mining talent and mine managers, are flocking to work with this company.

Then I'll Show You How to Lock in Up To $600 in Gains on Every Ounce — As you read this, the next gold company I reveal for you in this special report is still getting gold out of the ground at less than $400 an ounce. With gold still hovering around the $1,000 threshold... that's like locking in a $600 gain on every ounce. And that just means a fatter gain for shareholders. What's more, this is a miner with a huge cash pile. They're putting that cash to good use too, snapping up other top-performing miners and soaking up their gold and silver reserves.

And Finally, You'll Discover Years of Gains to Come, Thanks to New Breakthroughs in "Deep Gold" — Just as how high-tech breakthroughs now make "deepwater oil" discoveries possible, new tech breakthroughs have also opened up the future of "deep gold." These are the rich veins of yellow metal locked in rock as deep as 16,000 feet down. This top gold producer — with 20 different mining operations in 10 different countries — has perfected the technique. And now they're bringing up the rock nobody else can get... to add to their pile of 229 million ounces of gold resources, another 36 million ounces of silver, and 42 million pounds of uranium. I've been down in their mines myself — and I'm sold, this is one of the best long-haul gold plays you'll ever come across.

Like I said, you'll find all three of these companies covered in deep detail, in your free copy ofBullion and Beyond: Ultimate Wealth Protection Against the Coming Dollar Collapse. You'll find more inside, too.

Including...

How to lock in as much gold as you like for pennies on the dollar.

How to pile up your gold and silver gains tax-free.

How to buy coins and bullion without getting ripped off.

The absolute two best gold stocks for you to own right now.

Nine ways to own gold preferred by America's "super rich."

How to store your metals safely and without management fees.

The shocking story nobody's telling you about "peak gold."

How to get Lloyd's of London to insure your gold at no cost.

Why one gold exchange-traded fund (ETF) beats the others.

The "bank account" where you can park physical silver and gold.

"Name Your Price" gold — decide how much you want to pay.

How to safely collect gains and income on "outside-the-dollar" gold.

How to pick junior mining shares with much less risk.

The single easiest way to own either silver or gold.

Home-run gains on gold at a tiny fraction of spot gold prices.

How to buy all the gold you want without paying huge brokerage fees.

I hope you'll let me rush you a FREE copy, at my expense... along with a total of NINE free gifts altogether, all yours immediately if you simply accept my invitation below.

Here's what you'll get, once you do...

A Fortress of ProtectionDuring the Epic Crisis Ahead

Say yes to a simple trial subscription to Outstanding Investments, and the first thing I'll do is rush you my entire 2010-2011 Crude Awakening Countdown Library — FREE.

Inside you'll get...

FREE REPORT #1:Crude Awakening: How to Survive the Global Oil War of 2010-2011

Brace yourself for a whole new surge in global oil prices — as a 1,354-year-old schism in Islam fills the vacuum left by war in the Middle East, and spreads like wildfire from one petroleum-producing country to the next. The new Yemen threat, "post-war" bombings in Baghdad, even Iran's race for nukes — it turns out they're all deeply connected to this coming catastrophic political and financial event. Not only does this first FREE report show you at least three market moves that could protect you financially, it shows you how an impending oil spike will change the way the entire world deals with energy over the years ahead (worth $49, but yours FREE).

There's just no way, with near-zero interest rates and trillion-dollar cash injections by the Federal Reserve, to ignore the threat of crushing inflation ahead. Fortunately, there IS a way to protect yourself and even grow your money — with the nine powerful strategies you'll find in this timely FREE report, from how to own "name your price" gold at a fraction of the bullion value... how to pile up precious metal gains tax-free... and how to pick up gold and silver coins at a huge discount... plus, the only mining shares you need to own right now... all in this second FREE report (worth $49, but yours FREE).

FREE REPORT #3:Deepwater Crude Bonanza: Four Ways to Get Rich on the New Oil Frontier

While the rest of the world was caught up in the financial crisis, the single biggest energy breakthrough in 100 years just took place — nearly five miles below the surface of the sea.Brand new technology finally makes it possible to tap as much as 100 billion barrels of new oil. Yet it's still early enough to make a fortune on the four breakout "deepwater oil" plays you'll find in this special new report (worth $49, but yours FREE).

FREE REPORT #4:China's Next Big Crisis: Two Ways to Get Rich... As Shanghai Goes Dark!

With just two stocks, you could get rich — as China's biggest cities go dark. How so? See, China is already so short on coal to fuel their power plants... they have to shut out the lights in Shanghai and other big cities, just to save on electricity! Long-term, that can't work — so they're going nuclear, with plans to build three times as many uranium-fueled power plants.These two stocks should both soar. And you can read all about them in this fourth FREE report (worth $49, but yours FREE).

FREE BONUS REPORT #5:"Tight Gas" and High Yields: The Energy Breakthrough That Can Pay You Double-Digit Dividends

Just added — this fifth extra bonus report reveals the breaking story behind "tight gas" — easily the next big thing in U.S.-based energy. What the experts love is that "tight gas" could be the breakthrough that could cover America's gas needs for decades to come. What my readers and I love is that owning these shares also lets you collect regular double-digit dividend income... while letting you pile up gains on the shares at the same time. You'll find it all in this added extra fifth bonus report (worth $49, but yours FREE).

All together, that's $245 worth of gifts — and it's all yours to keep at no charge, just for agreeing to give my top-ranked advisory newsletter, Outstanding Investments, a try.

Every week, I'd also like to send you a commodities investment update, straight to your e-mail account. You'll read about the stocks in my Outstanding Investments model portfolio. Plus, other hot opportunities I have percolating on the stove. No charge whatsoever.

FREE GIFT #7: Check Up on the Portfolio Anytime You Want, With Our Private Members-Only Website — Also Included at NO Charge

I also want to give you FREE access to my 24-hour Outstanding Investments Web site. This site is strictly members-only and password protected. I'm inviting you to use it whenever you like to look up my newest picks, latest news and more. Also yours at no charge.

FREE GIFT #8:Yours FREE, One of the World's Most Popular and Well-Written Market Dailies —Praised by the New York Times and Money Magazine

When our friend and New York Times bestselling author Bill Bonner first launched his widely read e-letter The Daily Reckoning, nobody imagined it would one day top over 350,000 readers worldwide. Or that it would win praise from the New York Times Magazine, Money,and The Financial Times. If you're not already a subscriber, my publisher would like to invite you to start receiving it daily at no charge.

I want to make sure we leave no key market detail uncovered, so I've made a special arrangement with my publisher to make SURE that — if you don't already have invited access to their valuable Agora Financial Executive Series service — you'll also get the daily5 Min. Forecast report, at no additional charge. This is for paid-up subscribers only — and it's yours FREE with your trial invitation.

That's nine free gifts altogether. And again, everything you'll receive is yours to keep, no matter what and with no hidden shipping and handling charges or anything.

You can even download your reports right now and get my full research on all the opportunities we've just talked about immediately if that's what you'd like to do.

Here's the best part...

For Up to a Full Year, Let Me Also GIVE You OurTop-Ranked Investment Insights — FREE!

In addition to the nine free gifts, I want to give you Outstanding Investments... absolutely FREE... for up to a full year. Yours to try and evaluate at your own pace.

"How would I rate Outstanding Investments? Outstanding... it's difficult to be unhappy when all the recommendations I hold from OI are up a minimum of 36%."

— Jeff B.

Here's how it works.

You choose either one year for $49 (12 issues) or two years for $89 (24 issues) of our award-winning advisory letter. Inside every issue, you’ll discover how to pile up a fortune on the explosive resource investments we'll research and cover for you in detail.

Not just blockbuster oil, natural gas or coal investments... but also the moneymakers we continue to find in other vital real resources... like copper, cotton and platinum... gold and silver... and plenty more.

And you risk nothing to give it a try.

You'll even get the first half of either subscription absolutely free. That is, you pay nothing for the first six months of a one-year subscription... or the first 12 months of a two-year subscription. All our research, our best picks and all nine gifts... yours at no charge.

And even then, the remainder of your subscription is still protected by a full and unconditional 100% satisfaction guarantee. You can cancel anytime, even after the trial period of your subscription is over. And get a full refund, no questions asked.

Let me repeat those details...

"Cancel Anytime, Keep Everything."

Imagine if you'd just bought a top-of-the-line Mercedes S600. A year later, you roll back into the dealership, drop the keys on the counter and say you want your money back. You'd get laughed off the lot!

But this is exactly what I'm asking you to do here.

I'm asking you to simply give us a chance to show you how Outstanding Investmentsearned its ranking in 2005, 2006, and 2007 as the #1 Performing Advisory Letter of the Last Five Years — at no risk to you.

It's like taking a luxury sedan for a lifetime test drive.

Take the FREE reports and other gifts. Get our investing recommendations for a year, or even two years. Half of your subscription is completely free. The other half you can cancel anytime for a complete refund.

Even if you're reading your last issue on the last day of the subscription, you can still change your mind. Cancel on the spot, call me at the number I'll provide and I'll send you a check to cover every penny you paid to sign on. It's that simple.

And of course, you still get to keep all the issues and free gifts I've sent. No questions asked. Maybe that will sound crazy. Maybe someone else will read this offer and start rubbing his hands, knowing full well he could take advantage of me... simply by signing up now, enjoying all the recommendations and then canceling.

But I'm not worried.

I'm confident you'll read the reports I'm ready to send... and all the issues... and you'll see immediately just how valuable this investment research can be. You'll get the chance again and again to rake in returns. And you'll thank me for it long before your subscription ends. Maybe you'll even feel eager to sign on again. That's what I believe will happen. In the meantime, I will do everything I can to meet your high standard of excellence, just to make sure I can count on you coming back for more over the years ahead.

It's that simple.

I hope that sounds fair to you. I also hope it's something you'll decide on quickly. See, a lot of investors think that this last soaring cycle of the commodities market was all we get. We believe there's a whole lot more ahead. But you don't want to wait too long to get in position, or you'll miss out. So don't wait too long to make up your mind.

Sincerely,

Byron King, EditorOutstanding InvestmentsMarch, 2010

P.S. Accept my special invitation within the next 11 days... and there's another gift I'd like to give you, on top of the nine FREE gifts I just mentioned. Click below for details...

On November 30, the main opposition party, the BNP, enforced a country-wide strike to protest the ruling Awami League (AL) led government’s mis-governance. Its main alliance partner, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI), joined the strike but only partially. They withdrew after a few hours. The top six leaders of the JEI are already in police custody charged with various crimes ranging from promoting terrorism to war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh war of liberation from Pakistan.

Among the issues raised by the BNP was the recent eviction of its chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia from her Dhaka cantonment under directions from the highest court in the country. The other important allegation was that the AL government was indulging in anti-national activities by drawing up several economic agreements with India including allowing India transit facilities and use of Bangladesh’s sea ports.

It is interesting, however, that the next day Khaleda Zia vented her spleen in an internal meeting of the party. She chastised some senior leaders who had not taken part in the strike and weakened the protest. The question is why these senior leaders did not take part in the strike? There are signs that the party, formed in 1978 by her late husband army chief and President Ziaur-Reheman cobbling together opportunists and anti-liberation forces, and rehabilitating the JEI, has begun to crack following the party’s ignominious defeat in the 2008 elections. Senior party leader Moudud Ahmed was recently expelled from the party for his more moderate and rational views. Under the advice of senior leader and adviser to Khaleda Zia, Salauddin Qader Choudhury, popularly known as SQC, Khaleda has moved to ask the party’s members of Parliament to give her their resignation letters for an en masse resignation from Parliament. SQC is also under the scanner for his role in the 1971 war crimes.

The BNP is confronted by two major challenges. The development issue is the main threat. During the 2001-2006 BNP-JEI alliance government, development was the last priority. What took the front stage was wide spread corruption, promotion of distorted Islamic terrorism, and alliance with Pakistan to destabilize India through terror. The government oversaw the establishment of Pakistan’s ISI sponsored terrorist organizations like Lasker-e-Toiba (LET) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) in Bangladesh to launch terrorism in India.

A major sabotage attempt against India was blown when ten truck loads of arms, ammunitions and explosives were accidentally interdicted at the Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Jetty (CUFL) on April 01, 2004 night by a police officer. The arms consignment was meant for the ULFA insurgents in Assam. Although the BNP-JEI government naturally subverted the investigations in the case, the AL government investigations have revealed startling facts. The ruling parties at the top level and intelligence agency bosses were all involved in this terrorism plan, including Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and her elder son Tareque Reheman.

Minister for State for Home Affairs in the BNP-JEI government, Luftozzaman Babar, currently being interrogated in custody, confessed that the Pakistani High Commission in Bangladesh had paid Taka 450 crores to “higher ups” in the BNP-JEI government in appreciation for their cooperation in this operation!

The Bangladesh government of BNP-JEI was a fit case for being listed as sponsors of state terrorism. But the Americans had other ideas. Their priority at that time, as it is now, was being as friendly to Islamic parties.

It, however, defies all logic to understand why the BNP and JEI promoted domestic Islamic terrorism. JEI had their agenda to turn Bangladesh as a country ruled by Sharia law as per their accord with the ISI. But the BNP? The leadership from the very top are anything but religious extremists. Therefore, why did the BNP allow the domestic religious terrorists, the Jamtul-Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB) to stage coordinated bomb attack in 63 of the 64 districts of Bangladesh in August, 2005? According to reports in Bangladeshi media the JMB was to be used for the next general elections in country. A very immature policy, the women and men in the BNP who cosponsored this route did not understand that they would ultimately be subsumed by the same demonic forces they helped to create.

Unfortunately, Khaleda Zia does not appear to have learnt any lesson from the past. But some in her party may have, and hence the fissures.

The lesson is when the ruling parties spend their time and energy in such diabolical pursuits, how can they devote time to development and create employment? The upcoming youth in Bangladesh are now looking at jobs and careers, and not fossilized ideological politics. In the December, 2008 elections 45 per cent voters were the young new voters. They turned the elections. But they are also watching how the Awami League is delivering on their electoral promises.

AL President and Prime Minister, Sk. Hasina, is a new avatar. She is focused on development which will create jobs for the youth and take the country on a new plane. Goldman-Shacs has identified Bangladesh as one of the eleven emerging countries. Response to Bangladesh from countries promoting development in less developed countries has been positive.

Sk. Hasina is also acutely aware of what domestic development, issues, and unresolved but charged emotional historical burdens can stymie development. In her inaugural address as Prime Minister she made eradication of terrorism as her prime initiative. Terrorism is the most destructive element that devours a country. She appears to be working on the premise of an old Chinese saying that the situation in a country reflects the state of the nation.

The tragedy of 1971 hangs as an Albatross around the neck of Bangladesh. When the perpetrators of the tragedy live freely and rule the nationalists there can be no peace. So is the case of Sk. Mujibur Rahman’s assassination, and that of the top leaders of the AL, in 1975. These issues have kept the country divided and in a perpetual state of confrontation. Sk. Hasina has initiated steps, put an end to Bangabandhu’s (Sk. Mujib’s) assassination case, and is working on the others.

Sk. Hasina is fully cognizant of the fact that the opposition rule from 1976 to 2006 except for a short interregnum of 1996-2001, worked on creating a new generation of Bangladheshis in a “hate India” mind set. Children grew up in schools learning from distorted text books that India was the main enemy of Bangladesh. Soldiers targeted a Sikh soldier effigy in their firing practice. All ills of Bangladesh was heaped on India. This created a significant anti-India society of the young. But that started crumbling gradually even before Sk. Hasina took over the government in 2009, thanks to some pro-independence NGOs.

The maturity of Sk. Hasina’s politics and policies in external relations for development is demonstrated by her actions. She took one full year to visit India, then forayed to China, and recently made her circle of Russia and Japan. She made it clear that she was not India-centric, but India was a large fast developing neighbour with a 4000 kms common border, which could promote Bangladesh’s development including by facilitating trade and economic relations with countries like Nepal and Bhutan by allowing and facilitating transit through India.

At the same time, Sk. Hasina realizes the importance of China and other countries. Her message is quite clear. Dhaka is not interested in making alliances with one country against another. But there are priorities with some countries including India as necessity demands, but purely on economic and security relations. Bangladesh would not like India to get into alliances that can trouble the region which can put Dhaka in a difficult situation.

Bangladesh’s appreciation of India’s regional role was made very clear in an op-ed by a PMO official recently in the Daily Star. ANU Mohmad, a Director in the PMO dissected US President Barack Obama’s India visit as follows. He welcomed the growing India-US relations, and the growth of India’s economic power which could deliver the rest of South Asia from poverty. Yet there were some concerns. American policies created problems as in Afghanistan, and hoped India would not join USA’s encirclement of China strategy which would be disastrous for the region especially Bangladesh, said ANU Mohmad.

The article obviously reflected the Bangladesh PMO’s views and concerns. Bangladesh sincerely appreciated India’s growth to big power status as an engine of development for South Asia, especially Bangladesh. Dhaka expects the boundary and enclave issues will be resolved permanently when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Bangladesh, probably next January. The expectations and concerns expressed through the Op-ed should be appreciated in India. At the same time, Bangladesh must remain reassured by the track record of India’s foreign policy. India and China are committed to engage each other for further improvement of relations and focusing on development. Bilateral issues between them remain in another compartment.

As a neighbor of India with a 4,000 kms border there is an urgent necessity to remove the basic contentious issues between the two countries, especially on the borders, and sign the boundary agreement with adjustments to the 1974 India-Mujib accord. The enclaves issue, especially that of the Bangladeshi enclaves of Dahagram and Angarpota, remain a serious irritant which will be addressed. Resolution of water issues will follow. India and Bangladesh are on the stepping stone of a relationship that is momentous for the development of the region. Sk. Hasina’s efforts attract input from others including China, Japan, USA, Russia and the EU can make the dream of “Sonar Bangla” (Golden age of Bangla) come true. But beware of the spoilers.

The main opposition in Bangladesh, the BNP and the JEI, are fixated on derailing Bangladesh-India relations. They are a total counterpoise against development in Bangladesh with an Indian stamp. This is the main platform of their politics, and they are getting increasingly disturbed that they have failed till now to raise a national voice against the India-Bangladesh development initiatives. It will be a costly omission to forget that Pakistan remains a very interested party in derailing Bangladesh’s development in the current paradigm. Their comrades in arms remain the BNP-JEI alliance.

The Bangladeshis, have been influenced by decades long Chinese propaganda, as some others also have, that India was expanding its hegemonism over neighbours and beyond. This perception must be disabused. Hegemonism is an anti-thesis to India’s development strategy.

There is a lot of hard work ahead for Sk. Hasina and her government. She also has the responsibility to curb the ills in her own party and affiliated organization. Sk. Hasina has, perhaps, taken up the biggest challenge and the aspirations of liberation which no other predecessors had even conceived. The country is poised to acquire the escape velocity to break out of less developed gravity.

India is committed to Bangladesh’s development. But New Delhi must act more with alacrity on the pending issues and promises. India and Bangladesh are on the steps of a new sub regional development paradigm which includes Nepal and Bhutan. The natural extension is through Myanmar to South East Asia.

The BNP and the JEI are determined to derail the Awami League’s development road map. This group has support from some other quarters, and both Dhaka and New Delhi must be alert to that. This quadrangular region (India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan) is looking at a great future. It is for India to take the lead to steer this quadrangle through the rocky roads. Bangladesh can be an eminent partner.

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